Wow I didn't expect to get reviews so soon! And since it seems some of you will enjoy this story I will go ahead and continue it!

This is set almost ten years after prologue so Hiccup and the others will be about 15 or 16 now.

Italics = flashbacks

Chapter 2

*Stoick's POV*

I sigh deeply before I take a deep drink from my glass. My friend Gobber claps me on the back encouragingly before following my lead and gulping his own drink. We were seated at a small bar in town. In fact it was the only bar in our small town.

"I'm just not sure what to do with him anymore Gobber. I only see him a couple times a year since the accident and he's basically been raised by them. Now I'm just going to intrude in his life and move him hours away to an unfamiliar house. He probably hates me for never being there for him." I confess as I stare into my deep amber colored drink.

"Oh don't start that now Stoick! You know the boy still loves you. He understands why you haven't been able to raise him and I doubt he blames you." Gobber tried to reassure me but even his voice held a hint of doubt. He has been the one pushing me to finally ease off my work over these last few years. After Val disappeared and my son was injured I poured myself into my work. I have spent years searching for answers as to what happened to Val and I never had time to raise a handicapped son. Not when he needed so much attention and help just to live.

"I better get home now. I've got to go pick him up tomorrow around noon and it's a long drive. School will be starting again soon and he's got to adjust to the house first." I say as I drain the rest of my glass and shrug on my coat for the walk home.

"Call me if you need any help or if you need someone to watch Hiccup for a while. And Stoick? Take the time to get to know the lad." Gobber advised sullenly. I just quietly nod in reply before starting my walk home. Once I was home and in bed I closed my eyes hoping for a peaceful sleep but ghosts from my past kept whirling around in my head driving sleep further from my desperate grasp. Before I knew it I was sucked back into the past. In that horrible hospital room once more.

I hit my lights on my police cruiser as I speed towards the location of the wreck. I wasn't sure what I would find but an anonymous caller had reported a wreck along the side of the highway. There was only one car apparently involved in the accident and the caller wasn't sure how many people were trapped inside but said the car was smoking and she couldn't see any movement or hear anyone yelling. I was one of the closest responders to the location and I steeled myself for the worst. Sadly I was not even close to prepared when I reached the scene. I spotted the caller first, a mid-aged woman who appeared slightly shaky and was assuring the operator that an officer has arrived.

I followed where she was pointing and felt the breath get stuck in my throat at the sight that greeted me. A familiar looking car was badly damaged and laying on its roof the passenger side of the car was partially wrapped around a tree and rapidly thickening smoke was pouring out from under the hood. I forced myself to breath and prayed it was just a similar looking vehicle. I ran toward the car and crouched by the driver's door looking for victims. The driver's seat was empty but there was a decent amount of blood smeared on the steering wheel and around the edges of the broken window. It appeared as though whoever was driving had been drug away from the car. I shift my weight over to glance in the backseat only to have my breath stolen once more.

My eyes burned with unshed tears as I took in the sight of a tiny body dangling from a booster seat. The familiar red/brown hair was plastered to his head by blood in a few places and I could see tiny cuts covering his exposed skin. I pull a pocket knife out of my pocket and quickly and carefully cut the straps holding him in his seat. I easily caught him before he hit the roof and cradled him against my chest like he was a baby again.

This was my boy. My little son whose birthday was today. He was only six. I ran away to a safe distance as firetrucks pulled up and began dousing the car to put of the beginning fire. I tune out the scene as I press my ear against Hiccups chest. Tears begin to fall freely as I hear the soft thumping of his tiny heart. He was alive!

I jump as a hand lands on my shoulder and glance up to see an EMT standing there with a sad expression.

"I'm sorry but we need to get him to the hospital quickly. Are there any other victims Chief Haddock?" I silently shake my head and allow them to place my son on a stretcher.

"Officer Jorgenson take my cruiser back. I'm riding with my son." I order in a hard voice as I steel myself. The ride to the hospital was agonizing and I was told by other officers that there was no sign of my wife. Val was gone. I waited in the waiting room and was exhausted by the time the doctor finally came to tell me news of my son.

"Stoick Haddock? Follow me please." I followed him back to Hiccups room and had to force back more tears at the sight of Hiccup laying there wrapped in bandages and hooked up to multiple machines. The doctor motioned for me to take a seat next to the bed and I complied wordlessly while I gripped Hiccups hand in mine. It was so small and was almost cold as ice. I shuddered at the thought.

"What's wrong with him doctor?" I manage to croak out.

"Well Mr. Haddock he has some minor cuts and bruises as well as a dislocated shoulder. The safety belts on his seat put quite a bit of pressure on his collarbone and he ended up fracturing it because of that force. All of this will easily heal but our main concern is his head. He seems to have hit the back of his head pretty hard and we are honestly worried about brain damage." The doctor admits in a pained voice.

"What do you mean brain damage? He's going to be okay right? He will wake up and be like he used to right?" I inquired in a strained voice imagining my only son having to live the rest of his life as a vegetable.

"Well he will wake up but we have had a few patients with injuries to this portion of the brain before. Almost all of them experienced blindness as a result. Now before you freak out most of the cases ended up regaining their sight eventually and only a few experienced permanent blindness. Now with your son being so young there is an extremely high chance of him making a full recovery. And he may not even be blind we will have to wait for him to wake up to be positive of the extent of his injuries. I'm sorry Mr. Haddock but remember you have a very lucky little boy here." The doctor then walked out to allow me time with my son.

The doctor had been very wrong. Hiccup had been blinded and he hadn't gotten better. I couldn't stand to see my son struggling to live normally without being able to see, so I sent him to live with his uncle on his mother's side. I visit some but I've been too caught up in trying to find Val that I forgot that my son needed a father in his life. Tomorrow I was going to bring my son home for good. Tomorrow my life is going to change drastically.

Ok this chapter is very long so I'm going to break it off here. I will do my best to post the next chapter soon!